Mary,
As part of The NSF ADVANCE initiative to address the recruitment, advancement, retention, and leadership of women faculty in the sciences and engineering (www.nsf.gov/advance), a number of universities have undertaken climate surveys pertaining to gender and diversity issues on campus. A list of these institutions' websites can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/advance/itwebsites.jsp; these websites generally provide information on their PIs, questionnaires, methods, and results.
I recommend in particular the climate surveys undertaken by the <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Michigan</st1:placename> (http://www.umich.edu/~advproj/) and the one done by our very own Ronda Callister at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Utah</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> (http://websites.usu.edu/advance/). Our own climate survey at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Case</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Western Reserve</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> can be found at www.case.edu/admin/aces (look under the Research/Resources tab)
Regarding an external source to undertake the survey, we are just beginning to use the COACHE survey process, run by Harvard's Cathy Trower, for annual assessments of climate (http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~newscholars/info/survey.html). While this survey focuses on junior faculty's experiences regarding promotion and tenure, the nature of their work, policies, practices, and the general climate, culture and level of collegiality on their campuses, the report they provide analyzes the data by gender and race, and they are also willing to provide unidentified raw data to the university as well for further analyses.
I hope this information may prove useful to you. All the best,
Diana Bilimoria
On 9/30/05 9:16 AM, "Mary Graham" <graham@CLARKSON.EDU> wrote:
My university is considering doing a climate survey pertaining to gender and diversity issues on campus. It will include faculty and may include staff and students as well. We are seeking an independent organization to do the survey. Can anyone recommend a consulting firm or expert with gender and diversity survey experience to take on this task? We are looking for them to develop and collect surveys, and to analyze the data. I welcome any other suggestions you may have about the process as well.